Radisson
Day 16 - August 25, 2002  
July 27, 2003

Clearwater Beach
Drive back to Orlando
Fly Home

Drive to Orlando
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Clearwater SunriseKristen and I woke up with the sun.  It was pretty watching it rise over the inlet.  We watched the Pelicans feeding (love how they dive bomb) and even saw the back fins of a bunch of dolphins out a ways from shore.  No jumping, just their fins breaking the surface.  It was still fun to watch them!

Beautiful Sky this morningWhen the girls woke up we ate some Krispy Creme donuts we brought for breakfast, and then headed for the beach.  We got there around 8:30am! - VERY empty!  :-)  We enjoyed a couple hours playing in the water and sand and picked through about a jillion shells.  Its not easy telling a 6 and 4 year old that they can't take 20 pounds of sea shells on the plane with them!  ;-)

Sunrise across the bayWe headed back for the last couple hours at the pool and then headed to the room to shower and pack everything up for the flight home.  Checkout was MUCH less painful than checkin and we were quickly on our way.  The girls zonked out quickly, so we decided to wait until Downtown Disney to do lunch.  The traffic out of Clearwater was not too bad, and it took much closer to the 2 hours I had expected during the return trip.  We ended up going to the Rainforest Cafe for lunch/dinner.  Dolphins off in the distanceWe got the Disney Club/DVC/AP 10% lunch discount (He just picked a card!) :-) but it took FOREVER.  We finished with just enough time to head for the airport.  (Good - no room for any more purchases anyway!)

The drive to the airport was uneventful, and we arrived just under 2 hours early.  Quickly returned the National Rental car and hauled the bags to the checkin area.  VERY busy.  We were in a HUGE line, when an Delta employee came and took us to a checkin kiosk.  It was pretty quick and painless, but then we had to stand in another line to have them actually TAKE the bags.  It was still about 30 - 45 minutes faster than that original line.  Off we went to do a bit of shopping.  (surprise!)  Actually, we first hit the Disney 'Earsport' store.  Pretty nice (new I believe) and Kristen actually found several items she had seen no where else.  A few more items to cram in the carryons! :-)

Pelicans in search of breakfastAfter going through the gate check (pretty easy, no major holdup here) we found that our flight was running late.  Good thing we have a long time between connections!  We got a snack, and relaxed for a bit while we waited.  Finally boarded about 1.5 hours late and then proceeded to sit on the plane for almost another hour while they fixed the loaded baggage they messed up the first time!  :-(  MANY unhappy people that were now going to miss connections in Cincinati.  Many boats and sailboats aroundFINALLY got in the air, and landed 15 minutes before our connecting flight (we had had a 3 hour layover!)  We RAN through the terminal, caught a bus, and then RAN some more.  We JUST made it!  Whew! 

Arrived in Binghamton on time, but minus two bags of luggage - one with all the souveniors!  But they were delivered the next day!  So thats about it!  We got home REALLY late (or is that very early?) at around 1:30am!  I couldn't believe the girls were still awake.  They had slept a bit in the car on the way from Clearwater, and a bit on the plane.  They'll sleep well tonight!

Snow White outside the 'Earsport' StoreWe had a fantasic trip this year.  WDW was tons of fun as always, and we REALLY enjoyed Vero as a break in between.  Look forward to staying there again.  Now - I have to go plan our NEXT trip!  :-)


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